This disclosure relates to systems and methods that facilitate positioning points and objects in a work space or at a worksite, such as for example at a construction site. When an interior of a building is being finished, connectors, anchors, and the like are attached to the floors, ceilings and other structures in the building, and cuts are made and holes drilled using power saws and drills. Many tasks are accomplished using special power tools at predetermined locations, such that the tools are operated at numerous, precisely-defined positions in the building. For example, nail guns, power saws, power-anchor tools, and the like are used to nail, cut, install fasteners, and perform other operations at predetermined points within the building. In a building, a large number of electrical, plumbing, and HVAC components are properly sited and installed, usually with power tools. Additionally, finishing a building interior also uses a number of different tools that are not powered, yet are to be operated at precisely defined positions, such as for example reinforcement bar scanners. Positioning both power tools and non-power tools is to be accomplished quickly and with some precision with respect to the surrounding walls, ceilings, and floors as they are roughed in. Typically, it has used a significant amount of labor to lay out various construction points at a construction site. Teams of workers have been used to measure and mark predetermined locations. It will be appreciated that this process has been subject to errors, resulting from measurement mistakes and from accumulated errors. Further, the cost of this layout process and the time needed to perform the layout process have both been significant.
Various location determining systems, including systems that incorporate one or more robotic total stations, have been used for building layout. The total station in such a system, positioned at a fixed, known location, directs a beam of laser light at a retro-reflective target. As the target moves, robotics in the total station cause the beam of light to track the target. Since the dimensional coordinates of the total station are known, the dimensional coordinates of the retro-reflective target can be determined. Based on the measured position of the retro-reflective target, and the desired position of some building feature, such as a drilled hole and/or a fastener, the operator can move the reflector to the desired position, and mark the position.
Although position determination systems, such as ranging radio systems and robotic total station systems, can facilitate and speed the layout process, the layout process has continued to be lengthy, tedious, and expensive. Previous applications have been filed addressing systems and/or methods to reduce construction expense and/or labor. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/800,350, filed Mar. 13, 2013, which is incorporated by reference, provides systems and methods for positioning a tool in a work space.